Members of Leachville Fire Department joined Manila firefighters on Saturday, Oct. 22, for an all day training session.

The equipment was purchased through a joint effort raising $17,000 for the needed equipment.

"Grain bins are all around us," Manila Fire Chief Tracey Reinhart said.

The firemen met on Thursday evening and invited people who had helped with the purchase to view the trailer and eqiupment.

Donations came from Cox Pirani Farms (Dino Pirani); David and Justin Wildy (Wildy Family Farms); Chris Bennett with Agxplore; Gene Adams with Adams Farms; and Jared Camp who organized a wrestling fundraising event.

Also the citizens of Manila supported the efforts as the firefighters held a Boston butt sale, car wash and boot collection road block.

Fire Chief Reinhart expressed his appreciation to all of the contributors and members of the fire department for their efforts in acquiring the rescue equipment.

Westby fireman Eric Nottestad applied for the grain rescue tube grant on behalf of the Westby-Christiana Fire Department. The annual contest encourages nominations of first responders whose communities would benefit from winning a tube and training. It asks departments to describe how they would share the tube and training information with nearby fire departments. This year's contest generated a record 641 nominations and will provide tubes and training to 19 fire departments across 14 states -- another record.

Westby-Christiana Fire Department Chief Gilbert Turben said winning the grain rescue tube was a win-win for the department which is located in the heart of rural America and an area blessed with many varieties of grain holding and production facilities. He said the training they received on Oct. 5 was very informative and provided his department with information completely new to them.

The new 10,731-square-foot, two-floor station is scheduled to include a larger apparatus bay able to house a fire engine, a fire ladder truck and a chief emergency vehicle, according to a news release from the mayor’s office. The project will more than double the size of the current station, which is too small to house modern-day ladder trucks, the release stated.

The current facility will be demolished in late November. “During construction, fire crews will be working out of a temporary facility on Third Avenue to ensure no interruption in emergency service,” the release continued.

The modernized Fire Station No. 5 will reopen at the existing Ninth Ave. in 2018.

In addition to work on the Hillcrest station, the city has also opened a new fire station in Mission Valley and has begun construction of new fire stations for Bayside and City Heights.

The fire station project, which would in part mean the building at 366 Tuttle Road would expand from one to three floors, could cost $4.1 million, according to a preliminary report presented last month to the Town Council.

The following items will be discussed, and could be authorized separately or together, according to Town Manager Bill Shane:

• Continuing the project's Building Committee until construction begins.

• Authorizing Shane to enter into contracts with Portland-based Port City Architecture to design the addition.

• Authorizing Shane to work with the Building Committee to interview and choose a construction management team.

• Beginning the project in March or April 2017.

The Town Council in January formed a committee to look into space and storage at the fire station, as well as an inventory of the building's apparatus, in order to develop a needs analysis, building assessment, and conceptual site plan for the department.

The town also selected Port City Architecture to produce a preliminary design report, which included the estimate - a figure shaved down from a $5.1 million total rebuild.